Is it too early to be planting oats?

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MANY of us in regional Queensland are short of feed for livestock and, if you were under some bigger rainfalls, would be considering your possible planting options.

Unfortunately, it has only today ticked over into February and is very early for oats planting.

Our limitations may not be moisture at the moment but ground temperatures play a major part in successful oats establishment.

An interesting idea for those who cannot work out which way to proceed is perhaps you could mix oats and sweet sorghums.

Many a time have I have heard and also had it proven to me that the best soil temperatures at oats' sowing depth are from 15-25degC.

I have suggested many times that it is too early for planting this valuable winter fodder crop in February and, over the years, have been proven wrong quite a few times after very dry autumns.

I still say it is too early but it is certainly worth considering on "cooler" paddocks. Those are the ones with lighter soil on a south-facing slope. Then, of course, you can assist your strike capability by not planting too deep; by which I mean more than two inches or so.

Deeper sounds better but warm soils lead winter cereal seedlings to have shorter coleoptiles. These are like protective sheaths that emerge from the seed and move upwards through the soil to the surface and, at emergence, split apart to reveal the first leaves of the new plant, which are called cotyledons.

You have all seen poor strikes and wondered why that row or area did not emerge well and possibly speculated on lack of plants per square metre.

Reasons could be seeding depth, germination, soil temperature or a combination of these.

When the coleoptiles are going to be only about two inches long under warmer soil temperatures and you plant at three to four inches deep to get into the moisture, you stand a good chance of the first true leaves of the oats plant emerging underground and eventually dying.

As always, it is a trade-off for moisture-seeking and ground temperature.

Ground temperatures at planting depth do vary during the day and usually I assess at mid-afternoon. Strangely enough, ground temperatures in the afternoon are invariably warmer than the air, so don't assume that if it is 16degC at 7am you can plant as deep as you like.

Older varieties like Algerian and Camelia, with newer ones like Taipan, have a reputation for early planting dates, so derivatives or actuals of these are your best bet.

I realise this column is published across Central Queensland and in three to four weeks, you could easily, under a zero till system, use these moisture levels to plant your oats crop. Right now, many of us both in South and Central Queensland may be considering the Sweet Sudans like Sugargraze, Nectar or Mega Sweet, to name a few, which will do the feed quantity and quality job for you.

An interesting idea for those who cannot work out which way to proceed is perhaps you could mix oats and sweet sorghums.

It's not the easiest for future weed control and I wouldn't commit the whole winter cultivation area to this curious mix of winter and summer fodder crops. But I have seen this in many paddocks over the years fill that potential feed gap, where the scattered autumn rains are more like 50 points at a time. These 50-point falls are rarely enough to plant on but they do keep established plants going.

With the last six-odd months being terribly dry for many of us, it is handy not to have to worry about adequate moisture levels in a planting decision.

Paul McIntosh is a former manager of Landmark Emerald, now based on the Darling Downs.